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Confessing A Habitual Sin?


saint_wannabe

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saint_wannabe

i've been going to confession every week for more than 2 months now and i end up confessing the same sin over and over again. i think the priest is annoyed with me. should i keep going?

i want to stop but dont know if i can resist until the next week. what should i do? anyone else struggled with this before?


i pasted this here cuz i need to know soon confession is at 4:30 it is now 12

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the Apologist

[quote name='saint_wannabe' post='1306537' date='Jun 30 2007, 12:27 PM']i've been going to confession every week for more than 2 months now and i end up confessing the same sin over and over again. i think the priest is annoyed with me. should i keep going?

i want to stop but dont know if i can resist until the next week. what should i do? anyone else struggled with this before?
i pasted this here cuz i need to know soon confession is at 4:30 it is now 12[/quote]


been there, done that... i totally understand but never give up going to confession... if the priest is annoyed, that is his problem. The thing to realize is that God is not annoyed and sees you are trying... some times we get wrapped up in addictive behavior for other reasons and make it hard for us to will not to commit the sin. that is when we need to come to grips with our addiction, whatever it is and ask God for help. Try to look at the feelings you have that drive you to commit the sin... don't look so much at the sin itself as fear of committing a sin can actually lead one to commit it... this is a complicated issue and without enough details i can not know how to properly counsel you... but one thing i say is that going to frequent confession about the same sin is nothing to be ashamed of, but rather something to be commended. don't be afraid to go to different priests if it makes it easier on you.. also be open with the priest and tell him that this is very difficult for you and that it is hard to control yourself... when something becomes an addiction, we are actually less culpable for it...

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No matter how many times you sin, never ever give up confession. Worst comes to worse, find a better confessor, someone who understands the powerful grasp of vice.

God bless you, and remember to have courage and hope.

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saint_wannabe

thnx guys. i didnt go for confession today but next week for sure.

my sin is actually masturbation and pornography. at one point i stopped it completely after going for a retreat and when we were infornt of the Eucharist and but then once i started college i fell into it again.

know any site that could help? or has anyone been through this already and won ?

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You might find the following two links useful:
[url="http://www.trueknights.org/Forum/index.php"]True Knights Forum[/url]
[url="http://saint-mike.org/CSGSAR/"]Catholic Support Group for Sexual Addiction Recovery[/url]

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EcceNovaFacioOmni

pureloveclub.com

It's tough - hang in there. The temptations are easier to resist the longer you persevere in staying pure. Pray!

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Theologian in Training

[quote name='saint_wannabe' post='1306537' date='Jun 30 2007, 01:27 PM']i've been going to confession every week for more than 2 months now and i end up confessing the same sin over and over again. i think the priest is annoyed with me. should i keep going?

i want to stop but dont know if i can resist until the next week. what should i do? anyone else struggled with this before?
i pasted this here cuz i need to know soon confession is at 4:30 it is now 12[/quote]

From a priest's perspective who has heard many habitual sins (and not just the ones you mentioned) it is true that we do get tired of hearing the same thing from the same person, we are still only human, however, that should not be your concern but ours. The challenge, on our part, is to find something in that confession that wasn't evident before, no matter how minute, because, more often than not, it is that where the remedy lies.

In the end, you should not let the priest's annoyance stop you from trying to be a saint, as your name implies, but every time you fall, be ready to get back up and start again.

One thing I would recommend, is to ask yourself what is it that that sin is seeking to accomplish, and what is it that draws you to that particular sin and what is it saying about you and your own prayer life?

That would just be my advice.

God Bless

Fr. Brian

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Mary-Kathryn

[quote name='saint_wannabe' post='1306537' date='Jun 30 2007, 01:27 PM']i've been going to confession every week for more than 2 months now and i end up confessing the same sin over and over again. i think the priest is annoyed with me. should i keep going?

i want to stop but dont know if i can resist until the next week. what should i do? anyone else struggled with this before?
i pasted this here cuz i need to know soon confession is at 4:30 it is now 12[/quote]

Perhaps dear, you can also go to another priest. It may help give you the courage to confess. You WILL get through this, one step at a time.

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JesusIPray

Much prayers for you.

I once helped someone for a long while with this same sin, and I know how hard the struggle is.

You'll get through this, I won't stop praying for you.

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Chiquitunga

Hey saint wannabe,

I read your post a couple days ago and was meaning to reply. For several weeks I kept confessing a habitual sin too, that was, spending too much time online, and neglecting prayer and duties I should be doing around the house instead. My last penance was to not go online for 24 hours, although I wished he made it more time. So I decided on my own to severely limit my time online, and it has been much better since. I was especially inspired in this after this retreat I went on a month ago, where the priest said that so easily we can loose the sense of the presense of God when we're online. That is so true! And when we loose that sense, we more easily fall into sin, like in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve hid from God.

So I was just going to suggest that putting a limit to how much time you spend online might greatly help, as pornography is unfortunately so easily available on the internet. Also I think the advise Mary Kathryn gave on going to another priest is very good too in getting the courage again to go to confession and start over again. Also a different priest might be able to give you new advise that could help. (though at the same time, it is often good to have a regular confessor that knows you, in order to help you - but you are always always free to go to any priest anywhere - some of my best confessions have been while making pilgrimages at different shrines)

Also, as the feast of St. Maria Goretti is coming up tomorrow, you might want to say a special prayer to her. There is also a society, the Serenellians, whose apostolate is to stop pornography. We have a thread about them here - [url="http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?showtopic=69502"]The Serenellians[/url]. They are named after the man who killed St. Maria Goretti, Alessandro Serenelli, but was converted and led a holy life as a servant in a Capuchin monastery until his death. I highly recommend the beautiful documentary on her, [url="http://www.catholicstore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=9743"][i]Fourteen Flowers of Pardon[/i][/url]. It is very very inspiring! God bless you! I'll keep you in prayer!

In Jesus & Mary,

MC

Edited by Margaret Clare
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let_go_let_God

Never stop confessing. I have my habitual sins too and they are a bugger to stop. I habitually swear and lie. What I find helps me to over come is to not put myself in the way of temptation. For me it's to not put myself with people that encourage me to swear and to stay out of situations in which I have to lie to get out of or go to places I wouldn't want people to know about.

Also (I do this and have heard people try to do this as well) try to replace a sinful behavior with a holy behavior. For my swearing it's one Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be after every bad word. After some moments I just give up and say a Rosary and/or Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Sometimes that can help as well. The other people have had great suggestions as well but most of all don't give up.

God bless-
LGLG

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[quote name='let_go_let_God' post='1314010' date='Jul 5 2007, 02:08 PM']Never stop confessing. I have my habitual sins too and they are a bugger to stop. I habitually swear and lie. What I find helps me to over come is to not put myself in the way of temptation. For me it's to not put myself with people that encourage me to swear and to stay out of situations in which I have to lie to get out of or go to places I wouldn't want people to know about.

Also (I do this and have heard people try to do this as well) try to replace a sinful behavior with a holy behavior. For my swearing it's one Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be after every bad word. After some moments I just give up and say a Rosary and/or Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Sometimes that can help as well. The other people have had great suggestions as well but most of all don't give up.

God bless-
LGLG[/quote]
that's a great suggestion for swearing! :shock: i really needed that since that's my habitual sin!

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